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>> Thursday, December 17, 2015

Overall comments: An interesting discovery for delicious Hakka food in a Hokkien-dominated town! Although not serving solely Hakka food, I think this hidden gem has great potential & good eats to enjoy like their salted egg taupok, spicy assam prawns & sambal petai squid, among the non-Hakka dishes that I really enjoyed + I must say that their Hakka yong tau foo were enjoyable as well :DHalal: No

Tucked in a rather new area (at least to me) of Bandar Bukit Raja Klang lies this Hakka gem to be discovered. This restaurant serves Hakka & non-Hakka dishes that are close to the heart of its owner, Chong How. Frankly speaking, opening a Hakka restaurant in the Hokkien dominated area of Klang doesn't sound like a great plan, but I have to say that Chong How made a good decision to offer a different variety of food option to residents in this town & its neighboring areas.

The restaurant has been opened for approximately 7 months with an increasing variety of dishes being introduced to its menu since Chong How & his team enjoy creating new dishes & innovating home-cooked dishes that are much loved by Malaysians. Flavors have been tweaked & toned-down to suit the palate of Klang residents since they're the bulk of his customers as traditional Hakka flavors tend to be much bolder, which Hokkien clans aren't used to.

Let me share with you what we had for our review session :)

* all photos below show large servings except for the sambal petai & assam prawns

Salted Egg Taupok (RM24.00/large serving; RM12.00/small serving)

This is one of the best innovations ever! The salted egg craze seems to be in town & I think Good Hakka Restaurant nailed it with their taupok version! It's REALLY crispy on the outside (the taupok is turned over & deep-fried), well coated with the creamy salted egg yolks & not soggy at all (dry & crispy coat, but oh-so-delicious) & not dry on the inside. Ah, blogging about it now makes "my mouth water"...my favorite!

My 2nd favorite dish! In my opinion, this was the most "umph" dish served that evening as it was not just spicy but fragrant. I would much prefer if there is the aromatic kaffir lime leaves in their home-made sambal paste, but I guess the dish is flavorful enough to be enjoyed with just a bowl (or two) or plain white rice. The squid rings were chewy yet tender & oh, the generous serving of petai makes the heart of petai-lovers leap with joy!

It's a dish cooked with passion; the assam paste has to be fried for an hour (has the evident aroma of kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass & lime) before adding to the Rompin blue tail prawns to be served as the assam prawns dish! Fresh & delicious.

The Hakkas are well-known for their pork+fish paste yong tau foo. Unlike the usual Ampang yong tau foo that you come across with just fish paste stuffed into vegetables/bean products, the Hakka-style yong tau foo has a slight variant in taste, texture & ingredients. Chong How ensured that the Tenggiri/Mackarel fish meat is hand-scraped before adding in the minced pork, Tenggiri salted fish (yup, not the "mui heong" type as that will over-power the natural taste of the other ingredients), fried shallots, sengkuang/turnip, & sesame oil, just to name a few of the ingredients in the stuffing. This recipe took 4 months to achieve perfection!

You can opt for the soup version as well, which is equally delicious, if not better. The soup base is made from ikan bilis, sengkuang, "wong dao"/white beans, & Chinese cabbage, making the soup a real delight to soup-lovers! I think this is great for children since it's not spicy, has both veggie & meat & soup to go with the rice :D

Red Wine Chicken (RM30.00/large serving, RM15.00/small serving)

It takes 40 days to make 1 batch of wine & yes, Good Hakka Restaurant makes their own red wine for their red wine chicken! A LOT of wine is used in cooking this dish as the chicken has to be cooked for quite some time & alcohol evaporates, so more wine needs to be added to give the dish an evident wine taste. Having said that, as a typical Cantonese, I felt that this dish still lacks wine and the taste of ginger! Gosh, I'm like some pregger/woman who have just given birth! Hahahaha...bring on the wine & ginger yo!

Yam Abacus (RM22.00/large serving, RM12.00/small serving)

I LOVE yam abacus & was thrilled to find out that it'll be served for our review session! Good Hakka Restaurant makes their own yam abacus with the ratio of 4 parts yam (from Thailand): 1 part flour (unlike the commercial ones sold at wet markets with more flour than yam). The yam abacus here were chewy, pleasantly flavored, has fragrant dried shrimp, crunchy strips of black fungus, & an abundance of minced pork that coats every single piece of yam abacus. *yums*

Vinegar Pig's Trotter (RM30.00/large serving, RM15.00/small serving)

I didn't know that the Hakka-style of vinegar pig's trotter is different from what I've been having all along. Chong How learned from his grandma to use black beans for the dark color of the gravy instead of using dark soya sauce. Interesting! Sweet black vinegar, dried chilli & ginger are added to complete the dish. I personally found it too sweet for my liking & lacking in the sour vinegar taste + "hot" ginger 'kick'. I'm such a typical Cantonese, eh? Bring on the bold flavors! Hahaha...

I'm too used to my mum's style & the Wong family's style of Hakka-style braised pork although it may not be authentically Hakka. Being so used to the pungent flavor of the red & white fermented bean curd taste, I felt that this version is way toned down.

Rendang Pork Ribs (RM24.00/large serving, RM12.00/small serving)

I love the blend of the herbs & spices in this dish, although the typical me felt that it could do with a more pungent flavor. The pork ribs were tender & has 'absorbed' all the goodness of the herbs & spices. Seems like I prefer the spicy dishes that are offered by Good Hakka Restaurant compared to the non-spicy ones :P

After having the salted egg taupok, we just wanted more of the same dish, but were recommended to try the mantis prawn version instead of the taupok version that we loved. I must say that the taupok still wins my heart. Although the mantis prawns used here are different from the ones used in most restaurants (Good Hakka Restaurant uses the white mantis prawns, which are meatier & more juicy), the set-back is that you won't get the ultra-dry & crispy salted egg mantis prawns dish (where you can't really taste the mantis prawn), but a slightly crispy on the outside & juicy on the inside variant. It feels strange at first since we're so familiar with the 'skinny mantis prawns' served at other restaurants that this felt like a cult! Now who's serving the REAL salted egg mantis prawns, eh? You judge for yourself ;)

Hakka-Style Braised Fish (RM30.00 - RM40.00)

I think it's my 1st time tasting this Hakka-style braised fish. According to Chong How, you can use any fish, but in his opinion, the Tenggiri/Mackarel still tastes the best. This dish has a little bit of wine, dark soya sauce, "min see"/bean paste, & Chinese cabbage to give a lovely, naturally sweet taste to this simple 'stew'.

Sweet & Sour Ma Yaw Fish (RM30.00 - RM40.00)

I didn't find this dish very appealing since it wasn't an authentic Hakka dish nor was it extraordinary. The 'Ma Yaw' fish had a slight mud-smell, so I didn't enjoy it as much. As for the sweet & sour sauce, I don't have much to complain nor will I rave about it since it's 'okay'.

Home-Made Ice Lemon Tea (RM3.00/glass)

Most ice lemon teas are English/Ceylon teas + lemon, but here at Good Hakka Restaurant, Chong How is proud to introduce his much loved Pu Er tea as the base for his ice lemon tea! It was yums! I was pleasantly surprised & if not for a full tummy of good food, I would have ordered another glass of this tea! So fragrant!

Their simple yet extensive menu

Quite a decent variety for a humble establishment, eh?

For some good, homey dishes, I think Good Hakka Restaurant will not disappoint. If you're a Hokkien who enjoys a change of cuisine yet your palate is more comfortable with milder flavors, I think this restaurant is worth a try. I personally prefer the bolder flavored dishes, so my next visit will definitely be for those that I've recommended above :D

Disclaimer: Reviews written are based solely on my personal opinion. I am not affiliated with any companies/restaurants and will not be responsible for any disappointments that occur. No part of this site or any of the content contained herein may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without prior permission from the publisher.